Under gardener Ted Squire was also left #5,000, former maid Pat Roberts #2,000 and secretary Anne Stubbs #15,000.

The Duchess's staff always closely guarded her privacy and still refuse to talk about her to this day.

One benefactor said: "She was so very kind to us and so caring it would be a dishonour to discuss her in public."

Friend Rev Jonathan Lumby, of St Mary's Church, who was left #5,000, said: "As a mark of the great affection with which she was held by the people of Eccleston and of St Mary's church, we are planning a memorial plaque.

"She was a member of the parochial church council for 50 years.

"A stone mason and letterist are drawing up plans, which will of course have some representation of horses."

The duchess became the third wife of the late Duke of Westminster in 1947.

In later life, she was the owner of Arkle, generally regarded as the greatest national hunt horse ever.

The Duchess of Westminster didn't want to risk him in the Aintree steeplechase. "Anyway," she once remarked, "I knew he could win it, so what's the point in running?"

As a mark of appreciation, the Duchess left Jim Draper, the son of the legendary horse's trainer, #5,000.

Known to friends as Nancy, she met the Duke of Westminster - the second to hold the title - in her homeland of Ireland and the pair married at Chester Register Office on February 7, 1947. They divided their time between his seat at Eaton Hall, Chester, and his Lochmore estate in Sutherland.

But he died in 1953, shortly after the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, which they both attended.

As the second Duke did not leave a male heir, his title was handed down through the family line to Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, the sixth and current Duke. Since 1953, the Duchess had lived in Eaton Lodge.

Although the present Duke and his family appear not to benefit financially from the will, the Duchess left her precious collection of cups and trophies to them.